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| Knowing Basic Dog Training Techniques Makes For Easier Training |
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| Written by Lee Dobbins |
| Friday, 01 August 2008 09:19 |
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In order to communicate with your dog for effective and successful training, you'll need to arm yourself with some basic dog training techniques. Interaction between dogs and humans has been around for thousands of years, but sometimes it's still a baffling process. While we all like to think that we are more intelligent, sometimes training sessions can leave a bit of confusion about who is really in charge. A dog's understanding can be compared to that of a two year old human child. However, a dog's senses are not like ours. Not only do they perceive shades of red and green differently than humans, but their noses are extremely sensitive in comparison. A dog's mind also processes information in an entirely different manner. In order to limit a trainer's frustration and misbehavior on the dog's part, it is critical to remember these differences. Dogs are naturally pack animals. They are descendants of the wolf which is a social animal and functions best with interactive play and a strict hierarchy. The idea of the 'lone wolf' seems out of character based on the social habits of the wolf. Training can start as early as possible. For some breeds, four weeks is a good time to start. For the first several months, you should allocate at least thirty minutes per day, though a full hour is preferred, for training. There are some basic dog training techniques or guidelines that all types of training utilizes. When training your dog, you want to make it clear that you are the dominant one as early as possible. Dogs are pack animals by nature, and every pack has a natural pecking order. The top dog is the alpha. It is followed by the beta dog and so on. If you want sanity in your household and you want a happy dog who knows where he stands, you need to step up and be the alpha of his pack. The ease with which this is done depends largely on the breed of your dog, as well as the individual temperament of your dog. Just like people, some dogs act more assertively than others. Tools like leashes, collars, commands, and other training material are nice to have but the thing that influences successful training is your dog's attitude. Don't allow him to take charge of you. Of course, that doesn't mean that you have to use physical force to assert that you're in charge. Occasionally you'll need to use proper physical restraint, but being firm and confident will usually be sufficient for training your dog. When they are young, try putting them on their backs with your hand firmly on their chest. When their paws go down they are signaling that they recognize your authority. Sometimes doing this in combination with close eye-to-eye contact helps, since this is the language in which dogs speak. Begin with a short leash so you can keep the dog from pulling you all over the place. Let the dog have lots of time to run off his energy outside of training, but don't tolerate that kind of behavior or hyperactivity during training sessions. The first step is to choose a series of short and sweet commands, like sit, stay, down, and come. Each should sound distinctly different to avoid confusion between them. Your voice should be firm but not punitive. Make sure that you communicate that you're the boss, but not that you are mad at the dog. Stay away from using two-worded commands like 'sit down' because they tend to confuse the dog. When you give a verbal command, make sure your facial expression and tone of voice are consistent and use the same hand signals. Ultimately you can separate these from one another, but initially simplicity and consistency are key. Don't expect much more from a two-year-old dog than you would a two-year-old human. Neither of them can be expected to understand subtle hints or inconsistent speech. Be persistent and do it the same way, every time. Don't let the same command have more than one meaning. It really doesn't matter if you use the command 'down' to mean 'lie down' or 'stop jumping up on people,' as long as you don't try to use the same word for both. Using these basic dog training techniques, along with a firm hand, some patience and a lot of love will help you have a happy and obedient pet for life! About the Author: Is your dog a bad boy? Find out how training him can be as easy as 123 with the dog training techniques you'll learn about at http://www.positivedogtrainingtechniques.com/. Kindly provided by LJ-Marketing.dk You are welcome to use this article on your own website, if you include the link just before this text. |
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